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Hunt at the Well of Eternity by James Reasoner

When I got my box o’ books in from Dorchester Publishing that I mentioned in my last post, I made myself a promise that before I went back to reading anymore e-books (which I’ve been reading a ton of), I would not only finish this batch, but I would post about each one in it. After reading Urban Gothic, I decided to go the other way and read a little adventure, thus I checked out Hunt at the Well of Eternity.

Recently, in the past year or so, Dorchester Publishing has started a new series called “The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt”. From the series’ official website:

From the towers of Manhattan to the jungles of South America, from the sands of the Sahara to the frozen crags of Antarctica, one man finds adventure everywhere he goes: GABRIEL HUNT.

Backed by the resources of the $100 million Hunt Foundation and armed with his trusty Colt revolver, Gabriel Hunt has always been ready for anything—but is he prepared for the adventures that lie in wait for him?

Or, alternatively, a modern day Indiana Jones.

Being a big fan of the Hard Case Crime series (which Dorchester also puts out), I’ve been meaning to grab a few of the Hunt books to see if they were to my liking but never got around to it. Their last sale, though, was so good that I ended up picking up all the titles to date. A bit risky because if I didn’t like them, I’d be stuck with them, but I figured it would be something up my alley and since they were around $2 a book, my bank wasn’t going to be broken anyway.

After reading the first book in the series, Hunt at the Well of Eternity, I’m already convinced my purchase was sound, as it lived up to all of my expectations.

Click cover to enlarge.

The book starts off with a bang. Gabriel Hunt and his brother are at a fund raising event in New York when a mysterious woman attempts to hand a whiskey bottle full of water to them. Before she can, the waiters at the event whip out some guns, bullets start flying, the baddies grab the girl and run off into the night.

After the frenzy dies down (but not too long after), the brothers investigate the flag the bottle was wrapped in. Since the bottle had broke in all of the excitement, the flag and the remains of the bottle is all they have to go on, and there’s enough clues found for Hunt to determine his next destination: Florida. I guess he’s a little pissed that he was shot at, and the woman was intriguing enough for him to find. Or he just likes adventure. Perhaps a little of both.

Before he even reaches the airport where his private plane awaits (one that he flies himself, mind you, because he’s a jack of all trades), he’s chased and shot at again on the highway. The man cannot get a break. Fortunately, Hunt escapes unscathed, makes it to Florida, gets shot at some more and his adventures continue to South America where he discovers the true nature of the water and why it’s important enough to kill over.

Hunt at the Well of Eternity is non-stop action and adventure has everything you need in pulp fiction goodness: hot women, shootouts, mystery, suspense and, hell, it even has a bullwhip fight.

In addition to all of that, author James Reasoner wisely creates a mysterious back story for Hunt regarding his parents. Apparently, his parents disappeared on a cruise years before, and when I say disappeared, I mean disappeared. The ship went out full and came back empty. Every good series needs an underlying arc, and this may be the one for Hunt. The disappearance is lightly touched on only a few times in the book, but it’s enough to make you want to know more. I have a feeling this will be something that I will see more of, and I’m looking forward to it.

Like the Hard Case Crime series, the Gabriel Hunt adventures will be penned by different authors. The next book, Hunt Through the Cradle of Fear, is written by Charles Ardai. Not just the founder of both the Hard Case Crime and The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt lines, Ardai is also an established author. I dug his Little Girl Lost, so I’m looking forward to reading what he has to write about Hunt.

Like I said, this first book with Gabriel Hunt was a solid blind buy for me. I’m excited to see where the series is going to go.